Jump to content

Sell MP 0.72 for M9?


lightpainter

Recommended Posts

Advertisement (gone after registration)

I have a beautiful and (since i got the M8) rarely used MP chrome (10 rolls of film maximum) that i got together with a Summilux 1.4/50 asph (not 6-bit, new the box). The lens is simply great but i do not use it much on my M8 because of the crop factor. I mostly use a 35lux on that one. The 50lux is ideal for the MP, on the other hand. Since the M9 came out, i have been thinking about selling these two items because that will be more than half the ticket for an M9. I wonder if the MP as the "classic" Leica is going to keep its value or if sooner or later I will lose a lot of money there. Besides, I am not too sure films and good labs will be available for a long time. Have you ever lived through that struggle between keeping and selling? Thanks for sharing your thoughts.

.

Link to post
Share on other sites

I wouldn't sell the lens to get an M9 unless you have other excellent choices in the focal lengths you'd want to shoot.

 

As for the MP, if you are not using it, you might as well sell it. Look at it the other way; if you didn't already have one, would you consider buying an MP knowing how much you are likely to use it going forward?

Link to post
Share on other sites

I wonder if the MP as the "classic" Leica is going to keep its value or if sooner or later I will lose a lot of money there. Besides, I am not too sure films and good labs will be available for a long time. Have you ever lived through that struggle between keeping and selling? Thanks for sharing your thoughts.

.

I wouldn't worry too much on the former point. My dealer tells me that M6 prices are actually going up, so there's obviously still a market for film rangefinders, if not SLRs.

 

Your second point is dependant on the first remaining so. However, so long as there's sufficient people shooting film - and there'll be enough out of the way places without reliable (or any) electricity to mean it'll be a necessity rather than a mere lifestyle choice for a good long while - the labs and film makers will remain.

Link to post
Share on other sites

Advertisement (gone after registration)

and there'll be enough out of the way places without reliable (or any) electricity to mean it'll be a necessity rather than a mere lifestyle choice for a good long while - the labs and film makers will remain.

 

I'm sure film will be around for a while longer but I'm not sure the use of the stuff has much correlation with the number of people living in out of the way places.

 

Personally, I expect the availability of film to eventually go the way of audio cassette tapes. I haven't looked but I dare say you might struggle to find even one kind of low quality blank audio tape for sale in Tesco or even Boots. This might not seem important (after all, when was the last time you bought film from a supermarket) but I'd see the time when supermarkets no longer sell film as a tipping point for film sales beyond which it'll become an awkward material to use (home d&p, mail order, expensive, etc.).

Link to post
Share on other sites

My dealer tells me that M6 prices are actually going up, so there's obviously still a market for film rangefinders.

 

I've noticed this and have assumed that it is less to do with any increase in pent up demand for Leica film bodies and more to do with the increasing cost of a new Leica M (what's an M7 nowadays - £2700?) and the inflationary times we now live in (ignore the ludicrous official RPI figures).

Link to post
Share on other sites

The disappearance of film and processing is not worthy of further comment.

 

MP retail prices are rising and a new MP body costs £2,699.

 

Second hand prices are rising in parallel and I was with a dealer last Friday when he posted a mint black MP that he'd sold for £1,999. If you can afford to hold on to it, there's little chance of you losing much money. If you need the cash for your next object of desire then sell it in full knowledge that you can buy another one when needed.

 

It seems that many of us, me included, use film cameras infrequently immediately after buying a digital M. It also seems also that many return to them after discovering there's no real substitute for the film aesthetic and collecting files has not got the same satisfaction, but some don't go through that and will be 100% happy with the next digital release, or the one after that.

 

I'll hang on to my MP for a long time, but my mint M7 is currently for sale.

 

There's a shortage of 50mm Summilux Asph and prices are high for good, used examples. PM me here. Think carefully before you let that go.

 

The improved high ISO performance of the M9 might result in you managing with an f2, or f2.8, lens just as well for your work. It's then down to the signature of the lens and your preference.

 

As an example, I like the signature and the compact design of the 50mm f2.8 Elmar-M, but find it limiting when used with 400 ISO film. With the M9 and 1600/2500 ISO for B&W that will be a totally different ball-game. The lens could become my go everywhere standard and in comparison the Summilux, a big, heavy, albeit beautiful, expensive little-used lump.

Link to post
Share on other sites

Okay so you sell the items but your still only half the way to the M9 goal. If it was me I would buy a box(50 rolls) of chrome and get there and shoot a roll a day with your MP for a month. If after that you still want to sell it. Than you have your answer. I suspect that after a month of using the MP and all the beautiful chrome on the light table will make the thought of selling the camera unpalatable. Iv yet to see a single image taken with the M9 that rivals the IQ of a well exposed slow chrome scanned properly. As for worrying about film going away:rolleyes:. Never happen.

 

 

gregory

Link to post
Share on other sites

I sold my MP. I got it the first year it came out. I lost under 200 dollars and used it for 6 years. It would have collected to much dust and not having big pockets I needed to sell it. It depends on you.

I also got a 35 lux when I bought my MP but I would not sell that if I where you. On the M9 I will only use a 35 and 50 lux it's all I need. Also there are over 45,000 MP cameras out there. Based that on serial numbers on my MP and new ones on Ebay ( before I sold it ) the number of cameras might be higher.

 

Jan

Link to post
Share on other sites

Keep the 50mm for sure. Sell the MP unless you are nostalgic and a collector. Since you do not use it, there is no reason to keep it. With the Digital M9 you wont even think about the MP, you will be too busy taking great shots and getting great results the same day! I love Digital.

Link to post
Share on other sites

I do still load my M4 occasionally and make some shots, simply as an exercise in nostalgia. The M4 is such a lovely piece of work. Film, on the other hand, is atrocious. I simply cannot use it for anything serious. For me, film belongs to the past -- after half a century using it. The difference between 35mm film and medium format film -- and I am speaking of large MF, 6x9cm roll film -- is far far less than the difference between the M4 and the M9.

 

After all, glass plates were still in use when I was born. Where are they now? Who misses them?

 

The old man from the Age of Wet Gelatin

Link to post
Share on other sites

After all, glass plates were still in use when I was born. Where are they now? Who misses them?

 

The old man from the Age of Wet Gelatin

 

Oh Lars, come on! This was made with a glass plate, just scanned it. Not bad for 100+ yrs eh!

Welcome, dear visitor! As registered member you'd see an image here…

Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members!

Link to post
Share on other sites

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...